NFL

Bengals-Chargers Preview

The Cincinnati Bengals are back from a late-season bye week and
ready to begin a five-game stretch to close out the AFC North.

A road win Sunday over the San Diego Chargers would go a long
way to further staking their claim on the division.

The Bengals (7-4) are tied with Dallas for the worst road record
in the NFL among teams with a record of .500 or better. They're 5-0
at home but 2-4 away from Paul Brown Stadium with consecutive
overtime defeats in Miami and Baltimore. A third straight road loss
Sunday would allow Baltimore to creep within a game of the division
lead.

A victory would leave Cincinnati in a much more comfortable
position, up two games with four to play and the only road game in
that span coming at Pittsburgh.

"We have five games to really make a run and put our name out
there," wide receiver Marvin Jones said. "The bye week was a big
help. I've never had a late bye week like that. We're ready to make
this last push and go for it all."

That push begins with a healthy middle linebacker. Rey Maualuga
missed the last three games with a concussion and an injured left
knee, but he has been practicing this week and is expected to
play.

The Bengals entered the bye in high spirits after their 41-20
home win over Cleveland on Nov. 17. Their 31-point second quarter
set a franchise record, and all three phases contributed to the
scoring - two touchdowns on offense, one on a fumble recovery by
the defense, one off a blocked punt return and a field goal.

The offense, however, has been on a disturbing trend, held below
270 total yards in three straight games.

Andy Dalton has thrown eight interceptions in that span,
including two in the first quarter to the Browns that led to a 13-0
hole.

"Everybody throws interceptions from time to time," offensive
coordinator Jay Gruden said. "If you're going to play quarterback,
you're going to throw an interception from time to time. You can't
dwell on it, you've got to move on and figure out a way to win the
game.

"... But obviously eight interceptions in three weeks is too
many."

Dalton's 15 picks are tied for third in the league, though he
also enters Week 13 as one of six quarterbacks with over 20
touchdown passes (21). He wasn't sacked against Cleveland after
going down 10 times in the previous two games, but his 93 passing
yards marked the first time this year he was held under 200. He's
completed 47.4 percent of his throws in the last two games after
connecting on 64.8 percent in the first nine.

The Chargers are one of six AFC teams at 5-6 and looking to gain
footing in the race for the last wild-card spot. They play four of
their last five games at home, though that hasn't meant a lot
recently. They're 5-7 at Qualcomm Stadium since the start of
2012.

A 41-38 win at Kansas City last Sunday ended a three-game losing
streak. Philip Rivers connected with Seyi Ajirotutu on a 26-yard
touchdown with 24 seconds remaining to complete a game-winning and
potentially season-salvaging drive.

"It's the kind of win that can save the season," Rivers said.
"That doesn't mean it saved it, but it certainly kept it
alive."

San Diego would welcome its defense to do some of the saving
going forward. The Chargers have allowed 29.0 points per game in
the last four weeks, which ranks 27th in the league.

They're allowing an AFC-worst 389.5 yards per game.

"We've made changes before," first-year coach Mike McCoy said.
"We're going to let the DBs compete this week and we'll find out
what we think is the best combination for us. We're going to do
what's best moving forward."

That could just be relying on Rivers, given the Dec. 1 date of
the game. Since becoming the starter in 2006, Rivers is 26-5 with a
99.5 passer rating in December. The win total is tops in the league
in that time and the rating trails only Aaron Rodgers, Peyton
Manning and Drew Brees.

The Bengals, however, have won their last two games against
Rivers and the Chargers, both of which came in December.

San Diego leading rusher Ryan Mathews left last Sunday's game
with a hamstring injury but is listed as probable.

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